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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who was world exponent of ultra-avant-garde pianism because he could read the new printed notes that required playing simultaneously piano keyboard, sounding board and strings, tape recorder and kazoo?

2. At what age did the musician Mischa Levitzski die?

3. What term is used to describe the late nineteenth and twentieth century disciplined style of piano playing in which the pianist reverts back to playing with strict adherence to composers' written musical note?

4. Where was Rudolf Serkin sent to study at the age of nine?

5. What Russian composer and pianist initially developed a highly lyrical and idiosyncratic tonal language inspired by the music of Frédéric Chopin?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was the impact of the Russian Revolution of 1917 on music?

2. How did Vladimir Horowitz's piano career begin? What was the public reaction to the pianist?

3. Who represented Schnabel's German/Austrian legacy in music? How is the German school described?

4. What advances and contributions did Glenn Gould bring to musical presentation?

5. What relationship did Arthur Rubinstein and Vladimir Horowitz share? How did they differ in performance styles?

6. Compare the style and works of Busoni and Godowsky. How does the author relate their philosophical differences?

7. Who was Harold Bauer? Describe the Bauer's early career.

8. What nickname did Leopold Godowsky earn? Why?

9. When did Glenn Gould retire? What emotional disturbances did he suffer from?

10. How are Alfred Brendel and Maurizio Pollini described in Chapter XXXVII, Two Cult Figures?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the biography and works of Ludwig van Beethoven. What advancements was Beethoven responsible for in the style and technique of piano and composition?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the two pianists presented in Chapter XIII, Two Sensitive Ones, Charles Henri Valentin Morhange and Adolf Henselt. Why did the author choose this title for the chapter?

Essay Topic 3

When and where was Louis Moreau Gottschalk born? Where did he rise to fame? When did he make his American debut and where?

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